Friction as System Signal

Friction is usually a system signal, not a personal failure.

People often create extra steps because they are trying to keep work moving inside real constraints.

What Friction May Reveal

Friction may reveal:

• missing context
• tool mismatch
• broken handoff
• unclear ownership
• incomplete input
• stale process step
• data trust issue
• policy/process mismatch

Use Non-Blaming Language

Non-blaming language helps people tell the truth about work.

Better:

• The process requires duplicate entry.
• Status updates are not visible to everyone who needs them.
• The spreadsheet appears to compensate for a system gap.

Avoid:

• The office manager keeps messing up.
• The dispatcher is the problem.
• They are using the system wrong.

Why This Matters

When discovery feels like blame, people hide the workarounds. When people hide the workarounds, the recommendations get worse.

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Source: modules/friction-mapping-understanding-work-before-recommending-solutions/sections/05-friction-as-system-signal.md